Stone-cum-Ebony

DistrictShire countyRegionCountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townTONBRIDGEPostcode districtTN30Dialling code01233PoliceKentFireKentAmbulanceSouth East Coast UK Parliament 51°01′00″N 0°45′55″E / 51.0167°N 0.7654°E / 51.0167; 0.7654

Stone-cum-Ebony is a large mostly rural and marshland civil parish centred 7 miles (11 km) SSW of Ashford, in the Ashford district, in Kent, England. It includes the village of Stone in Oxney and tiny community of Ebony. In 2011 it had a population of 460.

Geography

The parish is south east of Tenterden, and stands mostly slightly elevated on the eastern side of the Isle of Oxney.

The Saxon Shore Way, a long-distance walking route tracing the old Saxon shoreline, passes through the parish. Wholly within the greater Isle of Oxney, the far north of the parish is marked by a small tributary of the Rother. It has one long street lined community at its centre.

History

Being almost flat and rectangular in area, the current bounds are those reflecting the centuries-old church parish boundaries: the south-east of the parish has the Royal Military Canal which helps to drain what was otherwise an almost impenetrable marsh, and the west of the parish reaches to include about a quarter of Wittersham village centre. Its Baptist chapel in the north of the street is now a cottage.^[2] The remaining religious building is a Grade II* church, i.e. mid-ranked in the national listed building ranking system. 10 other buildings, nearly half of those in total, are listed on the main street.

Notable residents (past & present)

• George Digweed MBE, 16× World Sporting Shooter Champion^[3]
• Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony JJSC, Supreme Court Justice^{[citation needed]}
• Norman Forbes-Robertson, distinguished Victorian Shakespearean actor^{[citation needed]}
• Dave McKean, illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician^{[citation needed]}
• George Newson, composer^[4]
• Sinden family:
  • Sir Donald Sinden CBE, actor^[5][6]
  • Marc Sinden, film director, actor and West End theatre producer^[7]

References